Working with inspectors and quality hold points

The E-2201A shell nozzle repair is the critical path of Kiera's package, and on its first shift it stops for four hours. Anders has the groove ground and preheated and is ready to weld, but the repair procedure has not yet been accepted by the inspector, and the weld cannot start until it is. Kiera spends the four hours on the radio and in the inspection trailer. When Grant Mahler finally signs the procedure, he tells her something she writes in her notebook. "I'm not here to slow you down," he says. "I'm here so that nobody has to come back and cut this out. If you show me the paperwork before you need me, you'll never wait." This lesson explains the inspectors a boilermaker works with on a turnaround, how inspection and test plans and hold points work, what records the crew must keep and how to work with inspectors so that quality and schedule support each other.

The inspectors on a turnaround

Several kinds of inspector work on a turnaround, each with a different role. The owner's in-service inspectors, such as Teodor, inspect the equipment, decide what repairs are needed and accept the repaired equipment back into service under the owner's inspection program. In the United States, the owner's inspectors are often certified to API 510, API 570 or API 653, and repairs and alterations to code equipment are accepted by an authorized inspector commissioned by the National Board, employed by an inspection agency or by the owner-user.

Contractors have their own quality control staff, who check the crew's work before the owner's inspectors see it. At Ironbridge that is Harjit Gill's group, with a quality control inspector on site for the turnaround. NDE technicians, such as Annika Sorensen's crew from the inspection company, carry out the radiography, ultrasonic, magnetic particle and other tests the plans call for and report the results. Vendors' representatives inspect the installation of their equipment, such as trays and seals. And the jurisdiction's inspectors may visit to inspect equipment under its rules.

Inspection and test plans

Quality on a turnaround is planned, just like the work. For each job that affects pressure equipment, the work package includes an inspection and test plan, often called an ITP. The ITP lists, in order, every step of the job at which an inspection, test or review is made, who makes it and what kind of point it is. It also names the procedure and acceptance criteria for each check and the record that proves it was done.

There are three main kinds of point. A hold point is a step that work cannot go past until the named inspector has inspected and signed it off: for example, the fit-up of a repair before welding, or a pressure test. A witness point is a step the inspector must be notified of and may attend, but work can continue if the inspector chooses not to come after proper notice. A review point is a check of records, such as material certificates or NDE reports, which can be done afterwards. The ITP shows each inspector's points in its own column.

Following the plan on the job

The ITP is a working document. A copy goes with the work package, and the lead hand keeps track of which points have been signed and which come next. Before reaching a hold point, the lead hand notifies the inspector with enough notice for the inspector to plan, usually set in the ITP, often a shift or a set number of hours. On a turnaround with hundreds of hold points a day, inspectors are busy, and a crew that calls them only when it is ready waits. A crew that warns them early rarely does.

# Inspection and test plan tracker: hold and witness points for one exchanger
itp = [
    ("Opened and cleaned for inspection", "H", True),
    ("Internal visual and UT by owner", "H", True),
    ("Repair procedure accepted", "H", True),
    ("Fit-up of nozzle repair", "W", True),
    ("Weld complete, visual", "W", False),
    ("MT after repair", "H", False),
    ("Bundle reinstalled, gasket check", "W", False),
    ("Shell side hydrotest", "H", False),
    ("Tube side hydrotest", "H", False),
    ("Final paperwork to owner", "R", False),
]   # (step, point type H/W/R, signed off?)
for step, kind, done in itp:
    mark = {"H": "HOLD", "W": "witness", "R": "review"}[kind]
    print(f"{step:34} {mark:8} {'signed' if done else 'open'}")
open_holds = [s for s, k, d in itp if k == "H" and not d]
first_open = next((s for s, k, d in itp if not d), None)
print(f"Signed {sum(d for _, _, d in itp)} of {len(itp)} points")
if open_holds:
    print(f"Next hold point: {open_holds[0]}. Work past it waits for the inspector.")
print(f"Next open point in sequence: {first_open}")

Opened and cleaned for inspection  HOLD     signed
Internal visual and UT by owner    HOLD     signed
Repair procedure accepted          HOLD     signed
Fit-up of nozzle repair            witness  signed
Weld complete, visual              witness  open
MT after repair                    HOLD     open
Bundle reinstalled, gasket check   witness  open
Shell side hydrotest               HOLD     open
Tube side hydrotest                HOLD     open
Final paperwork to owner           review   open
Signed 4 of 10 points
Next hold point: MT after repair. Work past it waits for the inspector.
Next open point in sequence: Weld complete, visual

Kiera uses the tracker every shift. At the morning meeting she lists the hold points her crew will reach in the next 24 hours, with times, and the inspection coordinator schedules the inspectors. When a hold point is signed, the inspector initials the ITP and the record is filed with the job. If an inspection finds a problem, the job goes back to the step where the problem started, and the ITP shows the repeat.

Records the crew keeps

Inspectors accept work on evidence, and much of the evidence comes from the crew. The records a boilermaking crew keeps on a turnaround depend on the job, but usually include material traceability for every pressure part used, with heat numbers matched to certificates; welding records showing which welder made each weld, with which procedure and filler; preheat and interpass temperature records; fit-up and dimensional checks; bolted joint records showing the gasket, lubricant, tool, pattern and final torque for each joint; and pressure test records. Each record must be complete, legible and signed by the person who did the work.

Missing records are one of the commonest reasons for delays at the end of a turnaround. A weld that was made correctly but has no record of who made it, or a gasket fitted without a record of its type, may have to be checked again or even redone. Harjit's quality group checks records each day rather than at the end, so that gaps are found while the people who can fill them are still on site.

When work does not meet the requirement

Sometimes work does not meet the requirement: a weld fails its NDE, a part is the wrong material, a dimension is out of tolerance or a test leaks. When that happens, the work is reported as a nonconformance, through the contractor's quality system, and the owner's inspector is told. The nonconforming item is identified and held so it is not used. The cause is found, the fix is agreed with the inspector and, where needed, the engineer, and the item is repaired, replaced or, rarely, accepted as it is with engineering approval. The nonconformance report records the whole story.

Nonconformances are not a disgrace; hiding them is. A crew that reports a problem early lets it be fixed on its own terms. A crew that covers one up puts the plant and the people at risk, breaks the code and its company's quality system and, when it is found, loses the trust that lets inspectors sign quickly. Kiera has one nonconformance on her package: a bolt set for the E-2201B channel arrives with the wrong material marking. She tags it, reports it and gets a replacement set from stock the same shift.

Working well with inspectors

Inspectors and crews want the same thing: equipment that goes back into service right the first time. Good working relationships make the job faster for everyone. The practices that help are simple. Know the ITP and the next hold points. Notify early. Have the work ready when the inspector arrives: clean, accessible, lit and with scaffolding in place. Have the records ready. Be honest about problems. And when the inspector raises a concern, listen, ask for the reason if it is not clear and fix it rather than arguing.

There will be disagreements. An inspector may reject work that the crew thinks is fine, or ask for more than the package says. The right path is to raise it with the lead hand's foreman and the contractor's quality control, who will resolve it with the owner's inspection group. The crew does not go around the inspector, and does not continue past a hold point without a signature. Grant tells Kiera that in thirty years he has seen more jobs delayed by arguments than by bad welds.

By the end of the first week, Kiera's crew has a routine. Each morning she gives the inspection coordinator the list of hold points for the day. Each evening she checks the ITPs and the records with Harjit's inspector. And when Grant or Teodor arrives at a job, the scaffold is up, the weld is clean and the record is on the clipboard. Her crew does not wait for an inspector again.